The governor's visit came as a surprise to many of them, and to some staff members with the U.S. Public Health Service in charge of shelter operations at FIU.

Scott was joined by FIU President Mark Rosenberg, who said the shelter will remain open for as long as it takes to make sure the evacuees get the help and health care that they need.

"We will provide the support to the U.S. Public Health Service and the state of Florida so they can feel at home, so that they can recover, they can get healthy," Rosenberg said. "We don't have a (closing) date. We know that there's significant devastation in their country and throughout the region, and we're in it for the long run."